Sophie Cooksley, Rodmarton School

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As part of my role I am the Early Years Lead, and this is where my passion lies. I strongly believe that children learn best through play and exploring, and I have worked hard to develop a learning environment which has this at its core.  I believe that planning purposeful play opportunities which are linked to the learning or theme is the core of early years teaching.  I have developed different strategies over the years to enthuse children to ensure that they engage with the opportunities which are provided for them.  My practice is always evolving as I try new ideas I have gleaned from training, reading current research and following the work of other early years practitioners.  I truly believe that sharing ideas is how we improve, after all, no one is perfect!  I have worked with students, colleges, and teachers from other schools, supporting them in the implementation of their teaching, how to effectively assess children, and how to enhance their provision with quality activities to ensure that children are able to reach their potential.

I have a lot of experience teaching mixed aged classes and can offer guidance on how to plan and deliver this effectively. I have taught reception alone, but also as a mixed class with year 1 and with both year 1 and year 2.  I love teaching phonics and early reading and have effectively delivered the reception phonics alongside preparing year 1 children for their screening test and year 2 children for their SATs.

I am a Forest School leader and love teaching outside. Children love to just be outside.  Anything can be taught at Forest School, or during outside learning.  I have been particularly interested in how to use Forest School to enhance the learning we have been doing in the classroom, particularly in maths.

Areas of expertise